Travelers

Chapter 29 - The Watchers

Jacob opened the door to their apartment, tired and ready to sleep. He hadn't done anything all day but look at a screen trying to find any hint of Pyromancer. He had talked to Mal a little here and there, and had one text conversation with Cat, but beyond that he had found his day to be a complete drain. He found his mind drifting home to his family and a few of his other friends. He reached over and flicked the light switch for their lobby, and he saw, sitting casually in one of their comfortable chairs, Adrian. He looked up at Jacob, and pointed behind him. Jacob tried to look at the spot to which he pointed, but found himself suddenly focused back on Adrian. He looked at the table, and saw a dark figure in his peripheral vision.

"Alright Rose. Very funny," he said, smiling. Rose seemed to reach down to her wrist and pull something. He could easily look at her now, as she must have powered down.

"Meet Miss Direction," Adrian said, casually, "the second member of The Watchers." Jacob looked at them confused. There had been no mention of a group called The Watchers in Renegades. Then he locked eyes with Rose, and understood. He hadn't heard of these Watchers because they didn't exist until now.

"I'm not even going to ask for an explanation right now. I've had a question for you, Adrian," Jacob said, shaking his head, "How's Nova doing? I'm sure she didn't appreciate being whisked away by The Sentinel." Adrian smirked a little at the question.

"Yeah, I'm sure the thing that hurts the most for her is her ego," Adrian chuckled. He laughed out their little joke, though Jacob could see the actual concern for her in his eyes. "Anyway, back to business. We want you to work with us. You'd need some other alias, but we can work out those details later," he said, talking fairly quickly.

"The Archer," Jacob said, cutting him off from saying more, "That would be my alias. I just need a bow and a suit. I'll leave those to you, Sketch." Adrian looked shocked. He had figured it would take more convincing, such as a suit like it had taken for Rose. Jacob continued, "But there would be one more thing. Nova. She'll be on us in days if we go active now. Especially if both Rose and I join at the same time." Adrian thought about it and nodded slowly. "I do have a solution to that," Jacob said, looking a little smug, "What is the best way to defeat your enemy?" The others just looked at him confused. "Make them your friend. A little of Wu's wisdom there for you."

Adrian had departed shortly after they resolved their little problem, and Jacob went to bed. The next morning when he got to work he found something odd on his desk. It looked like a small clicker that teachers had used with powerpoints back in his world. Next to it was a pair of red and black sunglasses. Next them was a note that had only one word. Sketch. He quickly went to a changing room, checked for cameras, and put on the glasses. He held the device in his hand, and pressed the only button on it. It flicked out into a full size bow, and though his outfit was incomplete, he could see the costume already in his mind. They had settled on a crimson archer look, as he didn't want to look like Robin Hood. He pressed the button again, collapsing the bow, and took off the sunglasses. He slipped out and headed back to his desk, waiting for the rest of his outfit, though he was certain that it would take until at least the next day. He couldn't work on it while Nova was around. Not yet at least.

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Cat was happy to finally be out and about again. They had been cooped up the Renegades HQ since their last encounter with The Sentinel. Adrian's dads had fortunately reassigned them in the interest of Adrian's safety, as well as the rest of the team. Nova obviously hadn't been the happiest, but even Nova herself had to admit that she wasn't the healthiest either. Her leg had recovered well with help from the Prodigy doctors they had at HQ, but she still wasn't exactly herself. They had been assigned to her neighborhood after it just to keep Nova out of too much trouble. Oscar and Adrian had put a fight, Oscar being more adamant after Hugh had brought up Nova's safety to Adrian. Cat thought that was kind of a cheap shot or low blow for him, but it did make sense.